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introduction
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened
to Hamlet (/hmlt/), is a tragedywritten by William
Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in
the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince
Hamlet is instructed to exact on his uncle Claudius. Claudius had
murdered his own brother, Hamlet's father King Hamlet, and
subsequently seized the throne, marrying his deceased brother's
widow.
Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most
powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story
capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by
others."[1] The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's
most popular works during his lifetime[2] and still ranks among his
most-performed, topping the performance list of the Royal
Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-uponAvon since 1879.[3] It has inspired writers
from Goethe and Dickens toJoyce and Murdoch, and has been
described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella".[4]
The story of Hamlet ultimately derives from the legend of Amleth,
preserved by 13th-century chroniclerSaxo Grammaticus in
his Gesta Danorum, as subsequently retold by 16th-century
scholar Franois de Belleforest. Shakespeare may also have
drawn on an earlier (hypothetical) Elizabethan play known today
as the Ur-Hamlet, though some scholars believe he himself wrote
the Ur-Hamlet, later revising it to create the version of Hamlet we
now have. He almost certainly created the title role for Richard
Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare's time.[5] In the
400 years since, the role has been performed by highly acclaimed
actors from each successive age.
Three different early versions of the play are extant, the First
Quarto (Q1, 1603), the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604), and the First
Folio (F1, 1623). Each version includes lines, and even entire
scenes, missing from the others. The play's structure and depth of
characterisation have inspired much critical scrutiny. One such
example is the centuries-old debate about Hamlet's hesitation to
kill his uncle, which some see as merely a plot device to prolong
the action, but which others argue is a dramatisation of the
complex philosophical and ethical issues that surround coldblooded murder, calculated revenge, and thwarted desire. More
recently, psychoanalytic critics have examined
Hamlet's unconscious desires, and feminist critics have reevaluated and rehabilitated the often maligned characters
of Ophelia and Gertrude
Importance of the character
The play opens with Hamlet deeply depressed over the recent
death of his father, King Hamlet, and his uncle Claudius'
ascension to the throne and hasty marriage to Hamlet's
mother Gertrude. One night, his father's ghost appears to him and
tells him that Claudius murdered him in order to usurp the throne,
and commands his son to avenge his death.
Claudius sends for two of Hamlet's childhood
friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to find out what is causing
Hamlet so much pain. Claudius and his
advisor Polonius convince OpheliaPolonius' daughter and
Hamlet's true loveto speak with Hamlet while they secretly
listen. Hamlet enters, contemplating suicide ("To be, or not to
be"). Ophelia greets him, and offers to return his remembrances,
upon which Hamlet questions her honesty and tells her to "get
thee to a nunnery."
Quality of hamlet
Hamlet's Character Traits
his fearless attitude. The first example occurs when the ghost
visits Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus. Here Hamlet is determined
to meet the ghost: "If it assume my noble father's person, I'll
speak to it, though hell itself should gape And bid me hold my
peace." Hamlet wants to speak to the ghost, even though it might
be a demon instead of his father's spirit. Another example of his
bravery is portrayed when he actually sees the ghost: HAM. It will
not speak. Then I will follow it. HOR. Do not, my lord! HAM. Why,
what should be the fear? Hamlet is not afraid to follow the ghost
and speak with it, despite the fact that Horatio is telling him not to
go. He asks Horatio why he is stopping him and what is there to
be afraid of. Another significant incident that brings out Hamlet's
daring character is when he arranges for the players to perform
"The Murder of Gonzago" to find out whether or not the King is
guilty of his father's murder. Hamlet's plan is, "...The paly's the
thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King. 6" He decides
to use the play to test the King's conscience and if the King
seems nervous or behaves strangely he will know his course from
there.(To do what the apparition told him. Get revenge.) Hamlet
also has a bad and violent temper. This is expressed when the
meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia goes sour: ...You jig, you
amble, and you lisp; you nickname God's creatures and make
your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't! it hath
made me mad. 7 Here he is upset with Ophelia and insults her
and tells her that she names things according to her own fancy
and then acts as if her own willfulness is ignorance.